T RA N S F O RM A T IV E T RA V EL S 2 0 1 4 | IN C REDIB L E IN DIA
A land so old with a soul so deep, India continues to mesmerize millions of travelers from round the world. With contradicting diversity and indomitable human spirit it is a country hard to travel as a foreigner, specially a woman, but magical if shown by a local. India, is not a dream vacation - but you will never be the same again.
14 or 21 Days in Incredible India Desert & Camels
Forts and Palaces
Temples
Itinerary
October 27 -‐ November 16, 2014 Bazars & Festivals
Beaches, Lakes, Rivers Dance & Culture
Day 1 | Monday, Oct. 27 Off to a relaxing and romantic start!
We $ly to Udaipur. Beside shimmering Lake Pichola, with the ochre and purple ridges of the wooded Aravalli Hills stretching away in every direction, Udaipur has a romance of setting unmatched in Rajasthan and arguably in all India. Fantastical palaces, temples, havelis and countless narrow, crooked, colorful streets add the human counterpoint to the city’s natural charms. Come and experience India with one of her daughters who is deeply rooted in the eastern philosophies, arts, culture and has strong bonds with her family and villagers. Castles and forts, stories of queens and goddesses, camel fair and safaris, ancient temples and Taj Mahal, boat rides on the River Ganges and relaxing on white sandy beaches of Puri, visiting a remote Bengal Village with mango groves and paddy Cields...
14 Days or 21 Days travel packages are available. Travel to and fro India from your home is not included. This tour is for women from around the globe.
Transformative Travels | www.transformativetravels.org | 510.681.9740 | transformative travels@gmail.com
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T RA N S F O RM A T IV E T RA V EL S 2 0 1 4 | IN C REDIB L E IN DIA Once in Udaipur we check in our hotel and relax. Facilities include Restaurant serving local and western cuisine and full service bar. After you settle down you will join us for an evening of introduction and Invocation & Grounding Ceremony followed by dinner.
Arriving at Jodhpur we settle down at our hotel, an old haveli (house of a prominent person), maybe go for a stroll in the market place and enjoy roof top dinner overlooking the clock tower as we watch $locks of green parrots come home to the trees nearby for the night
Day 5 | Friday, Oct. 31 Day 2 & 3 | Tuesday - Wednesday, Oct. 28-29
The Fort, Tales of Kings & Queens and puppets! Today we visit the Mehrangarh Fort. Mighty Mehrangarh, the muscular fort that towers over the Blue City of Jodhpur, is a magni$icent spectacle and an architectural masterpiece. Rising perpendicular and impregnable from a rocky hill that itself stands 120m above Jodhpur’s skyline, Mehrangarh is one of the most magni$icent forts in India, if not the world. Still run by the Jodhpur royal family, Mehrangarh is chock-‐ full of history and legend which comes through the audio tour we will all take. Back at out hotel we will enjoy dinner accompanied by famous Rajasthani puppet show.
The lake, the palace, the alleys and the roof tops We stay in Udaipur. Udaipur, a city of cream, rose and honeysuckle hues is the home of huge, cupola-‐crowned City Palace with its balconies gazing out at Udaipur’s other famous landmark, the Lake Palace – a fairy-‐tale confection that seems to $loat on the lake’s waters, gleaming by day and spotlit by night. Eastward, away from the lake shore, extends a tangled inner city of lanes lined with homes, temples, shops and businesses that is fascinating to explore.
Day 4 | Thursday, Oct. 30
Day 6 - 8 | Sat. - Mon., Nov. 1 - 3
On the road to Jain Temple arriving in Jodhpur, Pal Haveli
To the Pushkar Camel Festival and back
After breakfast we travel to Jodhpur in a luxury coach. We stop at Ranakpur on our way. Ranakpur is an incredible feat of Jain devotion. Carved from milk-‐white marble, the complicated series of 29 halls, supported by a forest of 1444 pillars (no two alike), is the $inest in Rajasthan, and one the most important in India. The devotion of its builders is encapsulated in the intricate carving. We stop for Lunch.
Rajasthan’s most famous festival, now an international destination for festival lovers, is an experience of once in a lifetime. The dunes outside of Pushkar are a sight to behold when the cameleers come to town. Drawing in 50,000 camels and 200,000 people, the fair is ostensibly a time when Rajasthani farmers gather to buy and sell their camels, cattle and horses.This 7 day festival embraces and incorporates locals and visitors into a fair with camel races, camel dance, mustache competition, turban tying contest and many such fun and unique activities. Outside the mela ground, there’s a fairground-‐cum-‐market, where you can buy the $inest of camel or human decorations before taking a spin on a Ferris wheel for a view over the vast expanse of camels.
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Transformative Travels | www.transformativetravels.org | 510.681.9740 | transformative travels@gmail.com
T RA N S F O RM A T IV E T RA V EL S 2 0 1 4 | IN C REDIB L E IN DIA No place better evokes exotic camel-‐train trade routes and desert mystery. Ninety-‐nine bastions encircle the fort’s still-‐ inhabited twisting lanes. Beneath the ramparts the narrow streets of the old city, where no cars are allowed, conceal magni$icent havelis, all carved from the same golden-‐honey sandstone as the fort – hence Jaisalmer’s designation as the Golden City. It’s hard not to be enchanted by this desert citadel specially at sunrise and sunset. We will stay for three nights at an old haveli inside the fort walls and take a day trip deep into the Thar Desert on the back of a camel to have an unforgettable experience.
Day 12 | Fri., Nov. 7
You can spend most of your time in the camel festival, or walk around the alley ways, do some shopping and relax on To Delhi we come! the roof top restaurants. Today we will board our coach early morning and drive to Pushkar is a holy Hindu town and November is a time of the nearest airport which is in Jodhpur. from where we will pilgrimage, so we will visit he lake to view the faithful as catch a $light to New Delhi. Once at India’s capital, we will they bathe, worship and $loat candles on the water. We will settle down in our hotel. This is the longest day of traveling end the day with relaxing and have dinner on a roof top and an early night is suggested to be refreshed for next day. restaurant by the lake. For those who like temples, we will go to Pushkar’s Brahma Temple which is the only temple in India dedicated to Lord Brahma. On the last day after lunch ride our coach back to Jodhpur.
Day 9 - 11 | Tues. - Thu., Nov. 4 - 6 Deep in to the desert fort of Jaisalmer We leave Jodhpur on coach after a relaxing breakfast to the western most desert fort town of Jaisalmer. The fort of Jaisalmer is a breathtaking sight: a massive sandcastle rising from the sandy plains like a mirage from a bygone era.
Day 13 | Sat., Nov. 8 A full day Trip to Taj Mahal in Agra Today we will visit Taj Mahal in Agra, without which a trip to India is not complete. “Rabindranath Tagore described it as 'a teardrop on the cheek of eternity', Rudyard Kipling as 'the embodiment of all things pure', while its creator, Emperor Shah Jahan, said it made 'the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes'. Every year, tourists numbering more than twice the population of Agra pass through its gates to catch a once-‐in-‐a-‐lifetime glimpse of what is widely considered the most beautiful building in the world. Few leave disappointed.”
Transformative Travels | www.transformativetravels.org | 510.681.9740 | transformative travels@gmail.com
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T RA N S F O RM A T IV E T RA V EL S 2 0 1 4 | IN C REDIB L E IN DIA around many ponds, have a lunch cooked with local and fresh vegetables and $ish and take a siesta before you head out to the train station to go to Varanasi.
Day 14 | Sunday, Nov. 9 Goodbyes & Off to the beaches Guests of the FAST TOUR (14 days) will be taken to the International Terminal to catch your $lights home. We will travel to Puri in Orissa from the Domestic Terminal. Day 19 - 20 | Fri. - Sat., Nov. Upon arriving at Bhuvaneshwar we drive to Puri and settle down for a restful night. The holy town and the River Ganges
Day 15 - 17 | Mon. - Wed, Nov. 10 - 12 Beaches, Temples and Wild Life in and around Puri
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Brace yourself. You're about to enter one of the most b l i n d i n g l y c o l o u r f u l , u n r e l e n t i n g l y c h a o t i c a n d unapologetically indiscreet places on earth. Varanasi takes no prisoners. But if you're ready for it, this may just turn out to be your favourite stop of all.
Spend luxurious days relaxing on the beach, swimming, visiting the famous Sun Temple of Konarak and enjoying wild like as you take a boat ride on the Chilka Lake. A serene ending is only proper amidst water, nature and ancient curving that Orissa offers.
On our last day we take a train to Kolkata.
Day 18 | Thu., Nov. 13 A Half Day trip to Roke’s Ancestral Village and off to Puri
Varanasi is one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities and is regarded as one of Hinduism's seven holy cities. Pilgrims come to the ghats lining the River Ganges here to wash away a lifetime of sins in the sacred waters or to cremate their loved ones. It's a particularly auspicious place to die, since expiring here offers moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death), making Varanasi the beating heart of the Hindu universe. Varanasi is unique, and a walk along the ghats or a boat ride on the river watching the evening ceremonies will live long in the memory.
We are whisked away from the train station to Roke’s ancestral village where we experience a remote Bengal On Saturday night you $ly to Delhi in preparation of your village untouched by many modern day practices. You hang $light back home the next day. out with the village kids, walk through paddy $ields and 4
Transformative Travels | www.transformativetravels.org | 510.681.9740 | transformative travels@gmail.com
T RA N S F O RM A T IV E T RA V EL S 2 0 1 4 | IN C REDIB L E IN DIA
Day 21 | Sun., Nov. 16 Goodbye India! Today you will be taken to the Delhi Airport to catch your $light home.
The Cost Packages
By March 30
By July 31
FAST TRIP | 14 Days
$3,200 ($250 DISCOUNT)
$3,450
FULL TRIP | 21 Days
$5,150 ($250 DISCOUNT)
$5,400
Price includes: • 20 nights of accommodations (13 nights for FAST TOUR) in double rooms shared between 2 guests • All land, air and train transportation in India (DOES NOT INCLUDE International Flights to and from India) • 2 meals per day • All entry tickets, entertainments and activities • 7 (3 for Fast Trip) Transformative Group Circles/Ceremonies -‐ our signature.
Transformative Travels | www.transformativetravels.org | 510.681.9740 | transformative travels@gmail.com
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